From the Editor's Kitchen: From hate to love

MY MOTHER WAS a great cook, a foodie before the word entered our consciousness. Everything she made was fresh and from scratch, which I probably didn't fully appreciate when I was young but do now. But that doesn't mean I liked everything she served us.

Like most kids of my generation, I was told that children were starving elsewhere in the world, and thus I had to eat everything (although it was never properly explained how my eating somehow helped those children, but oh well). I ate it, pouted and went off to my room.

Yet, at some point, there was a transformation — I'm sure my mother would say I got smarter — and some of the foods I hated as a kid are now part of my diet.

Notice I said

some.

I now love mushrooms, beets and papaya. But liverwurst and liver will never touch my lips again.

What foods do you eat now but hated as a child? Send in your comments in 200 words or less in an email to life styles@marinij.com by Feb. 1; please put "Editor's Kitchen" in the subject line. Don't forget to include your full name and hometown. I'll run them in the Feb. 20 Plus section and online.

Here's one of my favorite ways to eat mushrooms. This dish is quick — 20 minutes or so — and out-of-this-world delicious. I guarantee it will convert a mushroom-hater in your house.

RECIPE

Mushroom Marsala with polenta

1 pound white or cremini mushrooms

1/2 pound shiitake mushrooms

3 portobello mushrooms

2 tablespoons butter

3 teaspoons prepared minced garlic

1/2 teaspoon dried thyme

Salt and pepper to taste

1 (35-ounce) roll prepared polenta

About 1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese

1/2 cup Marsala

1/2 cup vegetable stock or chicken broth

1 cup cream

1/2 bunch chives, cut into 1/2-inch lengths

Preheat the oven to 450 degrees. Position oven rack at top of oven. Clean and trim the mushrooms. Cut into medium dice. Melt the butter in a large skillet over medium heat. Add the garlic and thyme and saute until fragrant, about 1 minute. Add the mushrooms, season with salt and pepper and saute until tender, about 6 to 8 minutes, stirring often.

Slice the polenta into eight ½-inch-thick rounds (you will have one third of the roll leftover). Arrange on a small buttered baking sheet and place on the top rack of the oven. Bake for 5 minutes, then sprinkle about ½ tablespoon of the Parmesan on top of each slice. Return to the oven until brown and crisp, about 2 minutes longer.

Increase the heat to high under the mushrooms and stir in the Marsala. When the mixture is almost dry, add the stock. Bring to a simmer, then reduce heat and stir in the cream. Heat through, and then adjust sauce for seasoning.

Transfer the polenta slices to shallow soup bowls. Ladle the ragout over the polenta; top with more Parmesan and the chives.

lll

Last month, I asked readers to share their guilty pleasure. Here's what devoted contributor Billie Lindemulder of San Rafael had to say:

Velveeta. It is our family guilty pleasure. The word Velveeta sends shivers up the foodie's spine. Oh puhleeze. Don't give me the wide-eyed "whatever are you talking about?" look. You know very well it is that brick of yellow pretend cheese that will last unrefrigerated for years. It would be a standoff between Velveeta and cockroaches at the end of time. It is usually shelved next to the crackers at the store, so even grocers don't put it in the dairy category. When I buy it, I hide it at the bottom of my cart under the leafy kale and chard in case I run into someone I know.

It makes wonderful mac and cheese and grilled cheese sandwiches. A friend buys it wrapped in slices to make an old Boy Scout camping recipe. One slice of Velveeta torn into four pieces and added to two slightly beaten eggs makes for creamy scrambled eggs. Here is my recipe for the ultimate comfort dish.

RECIPE

Billie's mac and cheese

If you make this dish, you, too, will join the culinary cult of secret Velveeta fans. If nothing else, a brick of Velveeta is heavy enough to hold a door open.

2 cups elbow macaroni dry (measures larger when cooked)

1 cup shredded cheddar cheese

1 cup Velveeta, chunked

2 tablespoons butter

¼ cup Wondra instant flour

½ teaspoon salt or to taste

Pepper to taste

2 cups milk (whole is best, but you can use 2 percent)

Dash of nutmeg (less than a pinch; one scrape on your grater)

Boil elbow macaroni according to the package but shave off a few minutes. They will cook longer in the oven. Make a white sauce with butter, flour, salt, pepper and milk. Wondra flour works best. Add 1 cup chunked Velveeta to white sauce. (If you like a stronger cheese flavor, add a bonus chunk of cheddar.)

When cheese is melted, add cooked elbow macaroni and the dash of nutmeg. Mix together and place cheesy macaroni mixture in greased baking pan. Sprinkle with shredded cheddar all over the top. Bake at 350 degrees until bubbly.

Vicki Larson can be reached at vlarson@marinij.com; follow her on Twitter at @OMGchronicles, fan her on Facebook at Vicki-Larson-OMG-Chronicles

WELCOME TO MY KITCHEN

In this monthly series, "From the Editor's Kitchen," we'll dish about all sorts of food-related things, from kids in restaurants to dealing with food allergies at dinner parties. Questions? Suggestions? Contact Vicki Larson at lifestyles@marinij.com.